L’HISTOIRE

Etymology

The English noun fellatio comes from fellātus, which in Latin is the past participle of the verb
fellāre, meaning to suck. In fellatio the -us is replaced by the -io; the declension stem ends in -ion-,
which gives the suffix the form -ion (cf. French fellation). The -io(n) ending is used in English to
create nouns from Latin adjectives and it can indicate a state or action wherein the Latin verb is
being, or has been, performed.

Further English words have been created based on the same Latin root. A person who performs
fellatio upon another may be termed a fellator. Because of Latin’s gender based declension, this
word may be restricted by some English speakers to describing a male. The equivalent female
term is fellatrix.

Cultural and Religious Significance:

Galienus called fellatio “lesbiari” since women of the island of Lesbos were supposed to have been
the introducer of the practice to use one’s lips to give sexual pleasure.

The Ancient Indian Kama Sutra, dating from the first century AD, describes oral sex, discussing
fellatio in great detail and only briefly mentioning cunnilingus. However, according to the Kama
Sutra, fellatio is above all a characteristic of eunuchs (or, according to other translations, of
effeminate homosexuals or transwomen similar to the modern Hijra of India), who use their mouths
as a substitute for female genitalia.

Cultural attitudes towards oral sex range from disgust to reverence: in Ancient Rome, fellatio was
considered profoundly taboo, whereas in Chinese Taoism, cunnilingus is revered as a spiritually
fulfilling practice that is believed to enhance longevity. In modern Western culture, oral sex is
widely practiced among adolescents and adults. In ancient Greece and modern Japan, fellatio has
been referred to as “playing the flute”; the Kama Sutra has a chapter on auparishtaka (or
oparishtaka), “mouth congress”.

Trivia:

The fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx, has been observed to engage in fellatio during mating. Female
bats perform fellatio to increase copulation time. This species is the only non-primate known to
exhibit this behaviour.